HARSHER THAN THE BARK
A/N: Well folks, we are nearing the end of season 3A. I'm so excited for you guys to see how things play out!
Also, I love Scarlett in this chapter. Just saying. Hope you guys do too!
Enjoy!
"Scott…" Stiles' voice cracked as he stared out of the broken window, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.
"I know." Scott said, putting his hand on Stiles' shoulder. "We'll get him back."
"How?" Scarlett snapped, hugging Lydia to her as she cried. None of them had a clue where Miss Blake could have taken the Sheriff and if they didn't hurry he was going to be the next sacrifice.
"We go to Derek." Scott said firmly, turning and heading for the door.
"Are you okay?" Scarlett asked Lydia again. She had a bruise around her neck where Miss Blake had tried to strangle her and her face was tear and mascara stained but Lydia still nodded.
"I'll be fine. But you need to find Stiles' dad." Lydia said with all the conviction she could muster. Scarlett nodded and the two girls followed Scott and Stiles.
Scott, Stiles and Lydia waited in Stiles' jeep while Scarlett ran to the music room where she had left her spare clothes. She couldn't exactly go anywhere with a blood spattered, and stained, outfit. Once she had it, she ran as fast as she could out to the jeep and hopped in.
"Okay we'll drop Lydia off first and then- Woah! Scarlett!" Stiles yelled when he turned around to see Scarlett half naked, changing into her normal clothes.
Scarlett and Lydia both rolled their eyes. "Don't be such a guy, Stiles. Get over yourself." He gave her an incredulous look but sighed and started the car, heading for Lydia's house.
As soon as they had made sure Lydia was safely inside of her own house, the other three teens went straight to Derek's loft, planning to explain everything to him and break the news that his new girlfriend was sacrificing humans.
Stiles wasted no time in bursting into Derek's loft unannounced. Derek stood from where he had been sitting on the couch…reading? Derek never read.
"She has my dad and you need to help us get her back." Stiles said angrily, storming up to Derek and getting in his face.
"What's he talking about?" He asked with a bored expression.
"What am I talking about…" Stiles trailed off, his nostrils flaring as his blood boiled. "Your psycho crazy girlfriend, that's what I'm talking about."
"What about Jennifer?" Derek queried, giving them all strange looks.
Scott walked up to Stiles, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him back, approaching the situation more calmly. "Jennifer is the Darach. She's the one killing people and she just took Stiles' dad." Scott explained, before looking down. "We think she's planning on making him the next sacrifice. Which is why we have to find out where he is."
Derek sighed. "Look, I know you two have a tendency for coming up with conspiracy theories but just leave Jennifer out of it."
Stiles eyes widened. "Are you serious? You don't believe us?"
"No, I don't believe that my girlfriend is murdering people." Derek defended, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well if you don't believe us, then believe her." Scott said firmly, turning around to look at Scarlett.
Scarlett stepped forward. "It's true, Derek. I know you don't want to believe it but I wouldn't make something like that up." Derek's eyes softened and he sighed. He couldn't not believe Scarlett.
"We can prove it." Scott nodded, taking out a jar of brown powder.
"What is that?" Derek raised a brow.
"It's mistletoe. If she is the Darach- "
"Which she is." Stiles interjected.
"Then it'll be poisonous to her. It'll show her true form." Scott explained, his eyes begging Derek to believe them.
Derek wasn't entirely convinced. There was just no way that Jennifer could be some dark druid who's sacrificing people. That just wasn't the kind of person she was. She was sweet and innocent. Of course, there was always the chance that he had maybe overlooked any kind of warning signs, that he would usually pick up, on account of the fact he was desperate to get over Scarlett. There was no denying that he believed the three teenagers. They had all worked together on multiple occasions, they were close, so why would they lie? "What do you want me to do?"
"Call her." Scarlett told him.
Derek did as Scarlett instructed and called Jennifer, telling her to come over. She told him that she would be there as soon as she could. Scarlett, Scott and Stiles all hid behind a wall as they waited for Miss Blake to show up. It wasn't long until she did.
They heard the sliding door of the loft open suddenly and heard the sound of heels running down the steps. "Derek, where are you?" Scarlett rolled her eyes at the falsely sweet tone Miss Blake was using.
"I'm right here." Derek announced, walking out of the dark.
"Oh thank God." Miss Blake sighed, running to hug him. Thunder and lightning cracked outside of the window. "Something happened at the recital, at the school and I need to tell you before you hear it from any of them."
"From who?" Derek asked, pretending he knew nothing.
"Scott, Stiles…Scarlett." Miss Blake said. "Especially Scarlett. She's just so jealous, I think she's letting it get to her head and she seems to have convinced her friends too."
"Convinced them of what?" Derek queried. He hated the fact that Jennifer was depicting Scarlett as some kind of liar, or some crazy ex-girlfriend. It just gave him more reason to believe that Jennifer was the one lying.
"They're going to try and tell you things, things that aren't true. You have to trust me. You trust me, right?" Jennifer asked frantically, her eyes wide and innocent. She was a good actress, Scarlett had to give her props for that.
"What is it?" Derek tried not to look or sound impatient but he was getting to that point.
"Promise you'll listen to me."
"Promise." Derek whispered before Jennifer smiled and leaned in to kiss him. It didn't take her long to realise that he was barely kissing her back.
"They're already here, aren't they?" Her voice becoming lower and more serious as she leaned away from Derek, her eyes deadly. Derek looked past her at the three teens appearing from behind a wall.
Jennifer turned to face them. They all stood in a line. Stiles had his fist clenched by his side, hate in his eyes, while Scott stood in the middle being the leader and Scarlett stood next to him, her arms folder across her chest as she glared daggers at Miss Blake.
"So, they told you it was me?" Jennifer asked, looking down. "That I'm the one taking people?"
Scarlett scoffed. "No, sweetie. We told him that you're the one killing people?"
Jennifer tried to hide the fact that her blood was boiling. Scarlett was annoying her more and more and she was getting in the way, too. She would have to do something about that.
"Oh…that's right." Jennifer said, her voice full of sarcasm. "Committing human sacrifices. What? Cutting their throats? Yeah," She laughed nervously. "I probably do it on my lunch hour that way I can get back to teaching high school English for the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense."
Scarlett sneered at her. She guessed that was exactly what she did. And actually, it did make perfect sense. The night when she claimed she had a doctor's appointment and then Tara showed up dead an hour later.
"Where's my dad?" Stiles asked, trying not to let his voice crack as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"How should I know?" Miss Blake asked, incredulous, turning to Derek. "Derek, tell me you don't believe this."
Derek looked past her and at Scarlett who's eyes shone with the truth. Her truth. The right one. Derek's eyes never left Scarlett's, even as he spoke to Jennifer. "Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?"
Scarlett sighed internally. She knew Derek was on their side. After everything, he couldn't just abandon them…abandon her. Just like she could never abandon him.
"No…" Jennifer sighed, her eyes pleading.
"Why don't you ask her why she tried to kill my best friend." Just the thought brought tears to Scarlett's eyes but she never let them fall.
"Who? Lydia?" Miss Blake gave her an incredulous look. "I don't know anything about that."
"Then what do you know?" Derek asked, his voice becoming angrier. Hurting Lydia meant hurting Scarlett and hurting Scarlett meant pissing Derek off.
"I know, that these children for whatever misguided reason are filling your head with an absurd story and one they can't prove, by the way." Jennifer said, turning to give the teens a look.
Scott held up the jar of mistletoe. "What if we can?"
Miss Blake's façade faltered as she gave the jar a wary look. "What is that?"
"My boss told me it's a poison and a cure." Scott said, walking forward while unscrewing the lid of the jar. "Which means you can use it and it can be used against you."
Miss Blake gave him a shocked, disgusted look. "Mistletoe?"
Scott allowed the contents of the jar to spray out, reaching Miss Blake as she put her arm up to defend herself. In the cloud of brown powder, they all watched Miss Blake spasm as the mistletoe affected her. Her face transformed into that of a hideous creature with slashes marring her entire face. She had no lips, no hair and cold, unforgiving eyes…she was scary. She was evil. Scarlett's eyes widened, she hadn't been expecting that. Miss Blake, the Darach, squealed before her face reverted back to normal, leaving her panting.
Derek looked astounded at what he had just seen and took a small step back. Jennifer glanced at him and tried to make a run for it but he stuck his hand out, grabbing her by the throat and yanking her back, holding her in the air and crushing her trachea.
"Derek, wait! Wait!" Miss Blake protested, her hand clawing at Derek's. "You need me."
"What are you?" Derek growled, anger getting the better of him.
"The only person that can save your sister." Miss Blake said, gasping for air. "Call Peter. Call him!" Derek glared at her but took his phone out, never easing up on the grip he had around her throat.
"It's bad, she's in and out of consciousness and vomiting up black blood along with one other alarming substance." Peter explained over the phone once Derek had asked about Cora.
"Mistletoe." Derek said before hanging up, having all the information he needed. She had poisoned his sister. He tightened his grip on her throat.
"Derek, what're you doing?" Scott asked, alarmed.
"Her life, it's in my hands!" Jennifer squealed.
"Stop. Derek, stop!" Stiles shouted, rushing forward.
"Stilinski, you'll never find him." Jennifer warned.
Derek didn't let go. He kept squeezing, blinded by rage. She had fooled him, fooled everyone.
"Derek." He felt his grip loosen, just a little bit, when he heard her angelic voice. Her voice pulled him back from the edge, just like always. "Let her go." Scarlett said, stepping forward and putting a hand on his arm. Derek looked at her, as did Jennifer. What Derek saw was his anchor, his love. What Jennifer saw was a nuisance, a threat. However, she couldn't deny that Derek's unwavering love for Scarlett could come in useful. "We need her." Scarlett spoke again, sending a glare Miss Blake's way.
Derek clenched his jaw but let go of Jennifer, allowing her to fall to the ground. Jennifer laughed darkly, looking up at Derek. "She's right. You need me. All of you."
They wasted no time in getting to their vehicles. They needed to get to the hospital and quick. Cora's life depended on them.
"I still don't know about this." Stiles sighed as he drove through the pouring rain. The storm was really kicking up. "We proved it to Derek but she still had this look like it didn't matter."
"Like it's all still going according to plan…" Scarlett murmured. She was worried. There was no way Miss Blake was just going to help them. If that was the case, then why would she have gone to all the trouble to poison Cora and take the Sheriff? It made no sense.
"What're you doing?" Scott shouted through the rain to Stiles as they ran towards the hospital.
"What? You got claws, I got a bat." Stiles answered, gripping the wooden baseball bat. Scarlett cursed herself. She didn't have any weapons on her. She hadn't expected to need them. She guessed it was stupid to assume there would ever be a time where she didn't need them.
"Scarlett! Scott!" Scarlett turned to see Melissa calling after them. The hospital was in chaos. "What're you doing here? The hospital's being evacuated."
"We're here to get Cora." Scott informed her.
Melissa gave the odd group a look. "All of you? Why does Stiles have my bat?"
"Look, trust me on this, mom. Get out of here. Right now." Scott warned her. Melissa eyed the grip Derek had on Miss Blake's arm suspiciously.
"Look, the building needs to be clear in thirty minutes. We've got two ambulances coming back. One is twenty minutes out, the other is ten. Cora needs to be on one of them." Melissa told them. Scott nodded and walked away but Melissa caught Scarlett's wrist and gave her a concerned look. Scarlett knew it was because she was with Derek and Miss Blake and Scarlett appreciated her mother's worry.
"I can handle it, mom, but thanks." Scarlett smiled, kissing Melissa's cheek before jogging after the group that were now in the elevator. When they were all in, Jennifer gave Derek a glare and looked at his hand that was still wrapped around her upper arm.
"You don't need to keep me on a leash, Derek. I'm going to help." Miss Blake assured him, her tone bored. He said nothing and Jennifer rolled her eyes before glancing behind her at Scott who had his glare fixed on her. She gave him a strange look before turning behind her at the other side where she saw Stiles giving her the same look, holding the bat up, ready to swing. She turned her head back to the front before finally looking at Scarlett, who was on the other side of Derek, in the reflection of the elevator. She sighed when she saw Scarlett was already glaring daggers at her in the reflection.
As soon as the doors reopened, they all exited the elevator and walked, at a quick pace, down the hall. Derek was the first to stop, making the rest of them stop behind him. He looked to his right, as did the rest of the group. There was an empty hospital bed with a puddle of black blood and mistletoe beside it. They gave it a strange look but their gazes were immediately caught by Peter, who had been thrown through double doors before them and was now sliding, on his back, right to their feet.
"We've got a problem." He said, looking up at them all before looking through the double doors again at the twins who had merged together to form one huge werewolf. "A big problem."
Derek bared his fangs immediately, his eyes glowing red as he ran at the twins, knocking into them. He didn't last long before they knocked him on the ground. Then it was Scott's turn to run at them. Using Scott as a distraction, Stiles and Peter ran to get Cora, who was laying on the ground unconscious, leaving Scarlett and Jennifer. Or, rather just Scarlett. She turned around only to see Jennifer had made an escape to the elevator. Scarlett wasted no time in bolting after her, jumping through the doors just before they closed.
"Oh no, there's no way you're getting out of helping us." Scarlett growled, standing up to face Jennifer.
Jennifer put up her hands up. "I had to go or else they would've killed me and I would have been no use to anyone." Scarlett narrowed her eyes. She didn't believe that for a second and she couldn't help herself, she had to get her frustration out somehow.
Scarlett punched Miss Blake in the face, taking her off guard. "That was for trying to kill my best friend, you bitch."
Miss Blake was trying to recover from the surprise punch when Scarlett yanked her by the hair, bringing her knee up to connect with Jennifer's face, causing her to yell out in pain. "That's for taking Stiles' dad." Scarlett's voice was venomous and she was crazed.
She let Jennifer's hair go and backed up, leaving herself just enough space to kick Jennifer in the stomach, sending her backwards, knocking against the elevator wall and sliding down it. Scarlett walked over to her and crouched down, putting her lips to her ear. "And that was for sleeping with my man."
The elevator door opened and Jennifer rose to her feet, trying to ignore the pain and shock she felt as she made a move for the doors, trying to get out. Scarlett rolled her eyes. Where did she think she was gonna go?
Something made Jennifer stop though and Scarlett furrowed her brows, peeking her head around Jennifer to see Deucalion and Kali making their way around the corner.
"Oh…shit." Scarlett mumbled. She grabbed Jennifer by the arm, yanking her back into the elevator and pushing the button for any floor. Kali ran at them as the door started to close, she gripped both doors with her hands, trying to pry them apart and Scarlett's eyes went wide.
Jennifer, however, stepped forward. Her eyes shone white as she seemed to muster up any strength she had and hit the doors with both her hands, sending Kali flying back.
Scarlett slowly turned her head to Jennifer, who gave her a blank look. "What the hell was that?" Jennifer just glared, her broken nose and swelling black eye prominent.
Scarlett dragged Jennifer along by her arm as she headed towards the room Scott had told her they were all in.
"It's like I told Derek, Scarlett. You don't have to keep me on a leash." Jennifer groaned.
"Oh really?" Scarlett asked, incredulous, tightening her grip.
"There has to be something we can do to help her." They heard Scott say from within the room.
Scarlett shoved Jennifer through the doors, she stumbled and glared back at Scarlett.
"You can't. Only I can help her." They all turned to stare at the two females. Stiles caught Scarlett's eye, motioning to his nose and then pointing at her. Scarlett just smirked and shrugged while he gave her a discrete thumbs-up. "I can save her and I can tell you where to find Sheriff Stilinski but there is a pack of Alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So I'll help you…but only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."
Derek growled, throwing a cart out of his way as he tried to go for Jennifer. Scott and Peter quickly held him back. "She was trying to get out!"
"I was trying to stay alive. You can't blame me for that." Jennifer countered.
Scarlett scoffed. "I do."
"You know, if you want to show that you're one of the good guys then heal her." Stiles gestured to Cora.
Jennifer shook her head. "Not until I'm safe."
"I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion." Peter spoke up. "Let's torture her."
"Works for me." Derek growled, trying to move forward but again being held back by Scott.
Scarlett smirked. She loved the idea of torturing Miss Blake. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it. The bitch was murdering people. Scott wouldn't let them do it though, she knew that for a fact, so slapping her around earlier would have to suffice for now.
"Um, can I have your attention?" Scarlett looked up as she heard her mother's voice over the PA. "Mr Deucalion, excuse me, just Deucalion requests you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the ER reception. Do this, and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes." Scarlett's eyes widened. Melissa sounded absolutely terrified and she couldn't blame her. Deucalion may be blind but he was a scary guy. Scarlett clenched her jaw and turned towards Miss Blake. She was now the reason that her mother's life was in danger and that did not bode well for Scarlett.
Without any warning, Scarlett turned on Miss Blake, grabbing her hair yet again and throwing her on the floor before climbing on top of her, grabbing her by throat and lifting her head so she could smash it against the floor.
Jennifer groaned but then got angry and shoved Scarlett off of her, standing back up with ease and shoving Scarlett against the wall by her throat, sneering in her face. "I am stronger than you."
It had all happened so fast it wasn't until Scarlett was pinned against the wall that any of the males actually had a grip on what was going on.
"Well I'm angrier!" Scarlett screamed in her face, kneeing Jennifer in the stomach before head-butting her right as Derek and Scott both lunged at Jennifer and yanked her away from Scarlett.
Both females' chests heaved as they sent glares at each other. Scarlett's head was throbbing from the force she used to knock it against Jennifer's.
"If my mother gets hurt in any way because of you, I swear to God I'm going to rip your eyes out of your face." Scarlett growled at Jennifer, touching the back of her head where she felt blood from being thrown against the wall so hard.
"He won't hurt her." Jennifer groaned. "Scott, you know why." She said, looking at him. Both he and Derek let go and moved to stand beside Scarlett, almost as if they were protecting her. Scarlett scoffed. Was it not yet obvious to them that she could protect herself? "Tell them."
"What does she mean?" Derek asked Scott who was remaining quiet.
Jennifer rolled her eyes at Scott's silence. "You're not the only one he wants in his pack." She directed her words at Derek.
"Why would he want Scott? That kind of defeats the point of an Alpha pack." Scarlett snapped.
Jennifer shook her head. "Deucalion doesn't just want an Alpha pack. He wants perfection. That means adding the rarest of Alphas to his ranks."
"A true Alpha." Peter said, putting the pieces together.
"What's that?" Stiles asked the question Scarlett had been wondering.
"The kind that doesn't have to steal his power from another." Peter began to explain, eyeing Derek. "One that can rise by the force of his own will…our little Scott."
"Doesn't matter." Scott said dismissively. Scarlett didn't understand what any of it meant. How did Deucalion know that Scott was going to become a 'true Alpha?' "We still need to get her out of here."
"Scott, what about mom?" Scarlett asked angrily.
"Mom," Scott snapped, turning to Scarlett. "Said there's another ambulance coming in twenty minutes and I don't think we've been here that long. So if we can get down to the garage, get the ambulance and get out of here- "
"The twins aren't just gonna let us walk out." Peter stated the obvious.
"I'll distract them." Scott said.
"You mean fight them." Derek clarified, earning a look from Scott.
"I'll do whatever I have to do."
"I'll help you." Derek told him.
Jennifer made a noise. "No, sorry, I'm not going anywhere without you Derek."
Derek narrowed his eyes at her. "And I'm not going anywhere without Scarlett." Scarlett's eyes widened.
"What?" She asked.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight." He said sternly.
Scarlett scoffed. "Oh give me a break, Derek. Did you not just witness me taking care of myself?"
"What I witnessed was you lashing out and putting yourself in harm's way." He said, stepping towards her.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes, stepping towards him too so that she was staring up at him. "I'm not a child." She growled.
"Well then don't act like one." Scarlett raised her hand to slap him but he grabbed it before she could and yanked her closer to him. As his eyes bore into hers and their breaths mingled, Scarlett forgot everyone else was there and she was having a hard time deciding whether she wanted to kiss him or kill him.
Eventually she settled for neither, yanking her hand out of his grip and folding her arms across her chest.
"Well," Peter started but Derek and Scarlett both shot him a look that clearly said 'shut the fuck up.' He ignored them. "As I was going to say, I'll do it. But I'd prefer to be out there with some kind of advantage."
"You mean like a weapon?" Stiles asked.
"Something better than a baseball bat." Peter clarified.
They all started looking through the drawers and cabinets in the room while Jennifer stood at the door, just watching.
"Hey, what about these?" Stiles asked, holding up a pair of defibrillators.
"Do you know how to use those?" Derek asked with a raised brow.
"No." Stiles shrugged.
"Then put them down." Derek said sternly, returning to his search through a drawer.
"Epinephrine?" Scott asked, holding up a giant needle.
"That'll only make them stronger." Derek informed him.
Peter stopped and looked up. "How strong?"
"Very." Derek nodded. Without another word, Peter grabbed the syringe off of Scott and stabbed it into his chest, injecting the liquid into himself before walking through the swinging doors.
While the twins were distracted by Peter and Scott, the rest of the group, and a still unconscious Cora, made their escape.
Scarlett led the way down to the garage, being the only one who actually knew where it was. She burst through the doors that led into the garage. "It's still here." She announced, holding the door so that Derek could pass through, holding Cora over his shoulder. Stiles ran ahead and opened the back doors of the ambulance, helping Derek put Cora on the gurney that was already inside.
"Derek, over here." Jennifer said, gaining Derek's attention. They all gave each other strange looks.
"Stay here." Derek ordered Scarlett but she just rolled her eyes and followed anyway.
They both stopped next to Miss Blake and saw the dead body of the ambulance driver.
"Well, that's convenient." Scarlett sighed sarcastically.
Derek shot her a look and she shrugged. The trio began walking forward, their pace slow and cautious.
"Julia…" A haunting voice called out. They stood their ground as they watched Kali appear from in front of the ambulance, spinning the keys on her ring finger. "It is you."
Miss Blake slid behind Derek but Scarlett remained strong by his side.
"You can't beat her on your own." Jennifer said quietly as Kali's eyes turned blood-red.
"That's why we're going to run." Derek said simply, as the three of them started backing away slowly. Jennifer was the first to run before Derek and Scarlett followed quickly behind her. Stiles had closed the ambulance doors on himself and Cora, therefore they could no longer be seen and with Kali being distracted by Scarlett, Derek and Jennifer, they weren't in any immediate danger.
Derek was about to keep running but Jennifer quickly grabbed him. "The elevator!"
Derek and Scarlett both saw Kali running at them, coming in from a different entrance than they had. Derek pushed Scarlett into the elevator and then pushed a gurney at Kali, blocking her path to give them a half a second head start to escape. Kali shoved the gurney out of her way but was too late to get to the three in the elevator as the doors closed in her face, leaving her to growl and bang against them.
The trio in the elevator were panting, trying to catch their breaths, went the lights started flickering and then went out completely as the elevator came to an abrupt halt. The backup light came on almost immediately after, providing the elevator with some illumination.
Derek immediately went for the elevator doors, prying them open only to see they were stuck between floors. His next investigation point was the service hatch on the ceiling of the elevator. He looked up, trying to calculate how he could get up and out.
"If you're thinking service hatch, they bolt from the outside which means you would have to break through." Jennifer warned him. "All you'd end up doing is creating a lot of noise, telling them exactly where we are."
"Kali already knows where we are." Derek said bluntly.
"Not necessarily." Scarlett said from where she leaned against the wall, gaining Derek's attention. "She knows we got in but she doesn't know if we got out."
"Well, if I can get through we can get to another floor." Derek told her, gesturing towards the service hatch.
"Or you'd end up fighting them alone in an elevator shaft." Jennifer countered. "They'll rip my head off before you even have a chance to land a punch."
Derek made his way back to the doors, trying to find a way out. He sighed. "Well we need to get the backup generators running again." He took out his phone and texted Scott. "Don't move on our way." Derek read out Scott's reply, causing Scarlett to sigh.
There was a lot of obstacles that Scott could end up running into on his way to them, like Kali or even Deucalion, and Scarlett severely wasn't enjoying being trapped in a small, enclosed space with her ex and his ex. It was just too awkward. None of them were talking. All three kept to themselves in separate corners of the elevator.
Ten minutes had passed since Scott's reply. Scarlett knew it. There were obstacles. She wondered if her mom was okay. She wanted to see her, wanted to reassure her that they would all make it out alive. Although, Scarlett wasn't a hundred percent convinced that she actually believed that.
"Anything?" Jennifer asked finally while Derek stared at his phone, waiting for a reply. Derek didn't answer her, however, so she took that as her chance to explain herself. "Derek, I know what you're thinking…that I'm using you."
"Which you are." Scarlett mumbled.
Jennifer ignored her and kept talking. "And that everything that has happened between us is a lie."
"Which it is." Scarlett added in again, looking up just as Miss Blake was about to lunge at her. But before she could lay a hand on Scarlett, Derek was in front of her, gripping her hand with a bone shattering force.
"Do you honestly believe that I'm evil?" Jennifer asked, false hurt shining in her eyes. Derek released her hand but never moved away from his protective stance in front of Scarlett. "A bitch?" Jennifer laughed awkwardly and Scarlett scoffed. Jennifer turned away, walking to the other side of the elevator while Derek turned to look back at the doors. "I just hope you're not thinking the most superficial thought. Is that her real face?" Scarlett had been wondering that for a while. "The slashed, mutilated face revealed by the mistletoe…is that what she really looks like?"
"Well, is it?" Scarlett asked out of sheer curiosity, earning a deadly look from Jennifer.
"Julia Baccari. That was my name." Jennifer admitted.
"I don't care." Derek's voice was harsh.
Jennifer carried on as if he never said anything. "I guess I should have changed it to something with different first letters. I think I read somewhere that people always pick out alias' that are subconsciously derived from their original name. It's a way of not completely letting go of your identity…since your name is so tied to your sense of self. Do you know what else is? Your face. The one that's supposed to be staring back at you in the mirror. Not some hacked-up atrocity you can't even recognise."
"I still don't care." Derek re-informed her, wanting her to just stop talking.
"But I bet you're curious." Jennifer countered. "I bet you wonder exactly what happened."
"You were an emissary. They tried to kill you along with the rest of the pack. Mystery solved." Derek snapped, finally turning to look at Jennifer. Up until that point he had been subtly staring at Scarlett, who looked tired and bored as she leaned up against the wall of the elevator, in the reflection in front of him.
Jennifer shook her head, looking down. "I was Kali's emissary. And I was the one she couldn't kill. For years the Nemeton's power was virtually gone. Like the dying ember of a burned out flame. But a few months earlier, something happened that caused that ember to glow a little brighter. Something that gave it a spark of power again. A sacrifice of a virgin."
Scarlett's eyes widened as it clicked for her. "Paige."
Derek's head snapped around so fast to her she thought he might've gotten whiplash. "How do you know about her?"
Before Scarlett had a chance to answer, Jennifer continued with her story. "You didn't know what you were doing back then. Killing Paige in the root cellar, sacrificing her there gave power to the Nemeton. You gave it power again. You gave me power. Just enough to help me hold on to life a little longer. Long enough to be found."
Neither Scarlett nor Derek said anything although Derek seemed to be dealing with some inner conflict after realising it was more or less his fault that so many people had been murdered at the hands of Jennifer, Julia…the Darach, whatever the hell she was called. Jennifer took their silence as an opportunity to go into another story.
"You know about mistletoe, but do you know the myth behind it? Why people kiss under mistletoe?" She asked.
Scarlett rolled her eyes and sighed. "I have a feeling we're about to find out."
"It's a Norse myth." Jennifer began. "Baldur, the son of Odin was the most beloved by the other Gods. So much that they wanted to protect him from all the dangers in the world. His mother, Frig, took an oath from fire, water, metal, stone and every other living thing that they would never hurt Baldur. And at a gathering, they tested him. Stones, arrows and flame were all hurled at him. Nothing worked. But there was one God, who wasn't so enamoured to Baldur. The God of mischief, Loki. Loki discovered that Frig had forgotten to ask mistletoe, a seemingly harmless plant and completely overlooked. Loki fashioned a dart out of mistletoe and it killed Baldur. Frig was heartbroken. She decreed that mistletoe would never again be used as a weapon and she would place a kiss on anyone who passed under it. So now we hang mistletoe underneath our door, during the holidays, so that we will never overlook it again. We were the overlooked. The emissaries. It was a mistake that Deucalion and the Alphas never should have made because I, made an oath of my own. From virgins and warriors to healers and philosophers and guardians to loan me their power so that I could teach these monsters that their monstrous actions would never be overlooked again."
"You killed innocent people." Derek said.
"So have you." Jennifer countered. "I know the real colour of your eyes Derek. And I know what it means. I'm not just asking you to save my life. I'm asking you to save everyone they'll ever hurt again." Derek followed Jennifer's gaze as she looked at Scarlett.
"You can't beat them." Derek told her.
"Are you sure about that?" Jennifer asked with a smirk. "Boyd asked you, right before he died, what happens to a werewolf during a lunar eclipse. You didn't get the chance to tell him. But you know, don't you? What happens to a werewolf during a total, lunar eclipse, Derek?"
"We lose all our power." He answered solemnly, gaining Scarlett's attention. That was news to her. Derek's phone buzzed and he took it out to look at the text he had received from Scott. 'We have a plan.' His phone buzzed again and Scarlett peered over his shoulder to read it. They wanted Allison to pretend to be Jennifer to distract the Alphas while Melissa turned the power back on. Scarlett sighed in relief at the news her mother was still alive and unharmed but then her brows furrowed, she hadn't even known Allison was there. There was so much she was missing out on by being trapped in the elevator and it was Derek's fault. If he hadn't been such a control freak, then she never would have been dragged along with him.
The lights started flickering back on and the sound of the elevator started again, indicating that the power was back on. Derek pushed one of the buttons on the elevator panel and the lift began moving again. Scarlett was eager to get out so she stepped up next to Derek and they gave each other miniscule smiles.
"Derek." Jennifer's voice came from behind them and Derek rolled his eyes. He was sick of listening to her. "Please, look at me."
They both looked in the reflection to see that Jennifer's face had reverted to her true, mutilated form. Scarlett's eyes widened as Jennifer knocked her out by smashing her head against the elevator door before turning to Derek and knocking him out just as easily.
Jennifer wasted no time in picking Scarlett's unconscious body up with ease and breaking through the service hatch before escaping through it, up to the roof.
"Oh my God." Melissa cried as she watched Jennifer, in full Darach form, come towards her carrying, what looked like, Scarlett's dead body over her shoulder.
With one swift move, Jennifer, Scarlett and Melissa had all disappeared from the rooftop of the hospital.